Sep 26, 2019
Wired Sussex Immersive Discovery Day: An Amazing VR Revelation
What is an Immersive Discovery Day?
With technology allowing brands to tell stories in more engaging ways, the marketing industry has stepped up a gear. And, as the global Augmented Reality market is expected to grow to a staggering £92 billion by 2022, immersive storytelling is set to become incredibly powerful.
To help companies stay ahead of the curve, Wired Sussex has started running Immersive Discovery Days which are fun and educational away-days designed to give in-depth overview of the immersive landscape.
Recently, one of our member companies, Digital Marketing Agency Pure360 took part in one of these days to provide their team hands-on learning with cutting-edge Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies to get them up to speed with the current market.
Senior Marketing Manager, Cara Wilson from Pure360 recounts her experience:
“I have to admit, I didn’t really know what to expect from our Immersive Discovery Day. Up to that point, my experience with virtual reality (VR) had been pretty limited!! I got my hands on a free Google Cardboard VR headset several years ago but was unimpressed with the low res, limited experiences available at the time.
So when we were given a Google Cardboard headset at the start of the Discovery Day, I assumed I knew what I was in for. But to my pleasant surprise, I was in for a very different encounter. I had my first ‘immersive viewing experience’ just by watching The Blu: Whale Encounter on YouTube via a cardboard headset. I actually felt my body react as a huge whale swam up to me.
The Blu 360 Experience on Google Cardboard
From here on the tone for the day was set and my ignorance of VR and AR in 2019 was truly revealed. I had no idea how far technology had come and was blown away by the possibilities! We can certainly escape into our own virtual worlds right now, that’s for sure. And I’m not just talking about gaming.
Enter Tilt Brush by Google. Pitched to me as software for artists, I thought it’d be lost on a low-skilled doodler like me but this turned out to be my favourite part of the day. The concept and experience of painting and drawing in 3D is strange but beautifully satisfying. I could walk around my artwork, through my artwork, or jump away in an instant and view it from a distance. Forget your mindfulness colouring-in book – Google Tilt Brush is the future and takes it to a whole new level.
Tiltbrush Drawing
Safe to say after all that, plus walking a virtual reality plank 50 feet high in the sky (I was literally shaking), and playing Beatsaber, the top-selling VR game of all time, I was sold on the effectiveness of VR technology and left full of thoughts on what the future could hold if tech has evolved this rapidly already.
So what do I now think about VR/AR and the future of tech?
First of all, VR now gives us the ability to immerse ourselves in a completely different environment in an instant. And it’s unlike anything we’ve had access to before. It’s great for escapism, community, wellbeing and creativity.
But this isn’t just about personal usage. There is a real value for businesses using VR and AR. Right now this tech gives companies the ability to train staff and connect remote workers like never before. We’re seeing the likes of engineering and automotive companies train in the creation and manufacturing of products in both a virtual and augmented world.
And the results – well it doesn’t matter if you make a mistake because it’s not real, you get hands-on training instead of having to watch others or read a book, and you can work alongside your team, building connections with your colleagues and learning to work together far more quickly. This is just one example but think of the possibilities beyond this.
It feels like we’re in for some exciting VR developments over the upcoming years, making it much more accessible and affordable to your average consumer. It seems likely that VR will be incorporated into every home and workplace in the not too distant future.”
Cara Wilson, Senior Marketing Manager, Pure360
____________________________________________________________________
Like the sound of our Immersive Discovery Day and think it could provide some important insights and learning to your team?
You can find out more here.
Alternatively get in touch via email: [email protected]
With technology allowing brands to tell stories in more engaging ways, the marketing industry has stepped up a gear. And, as the global Augmented Reality market is expected to grow to a staggering £92 billion by 2022, immersive storytelling is set to become incredibly powerful.
To help companies stay ahead of the curve, Wired Sussex has started running Immersive Discovery Days which are fun and educational away-days designed to give in-depth overview of the immersive landscape.
Recently, one of our member companies, Digital Marketing Agency Pure360 took part in one of these days to provide their team hands-on learning with cutting-edge Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies to get them up to speed with the current market.
Senior Marketing Manager, Cara Wilson from Pure360 recounts her experience:
“I have to admit, I didn’t really know what to expect from our Immersive Discovery Day. Up to that point, my experience with virtual reality (VR) had been pretty limited!! I got my hands on a free Google Cardboard VR headset several years ago but was unimpressed with the low res, limited experiences available at the time.
So when we were given a Google Cardboard headset at the start of the Discovery Day, I assumed I knew what I was in for. But to my pleasant surprise, I was in for a very different encounter. I had my first ‘immersive viewing experience’ just by watching The Blu: Whale Encounter on YouTube via a cardboard headset. I actually felt my body react as a huge whale swam up to me.
The Blu 360 Experience on Google CardboardFrom here on the tone for the day was set and my ignorance of VR and AR in 2019 was truly revealed. I had no idea how far technology had come and was blown away by the possibilities! We can certainly escape into our own virtual worlds right now, that’s for sure. And I’m not just talking about gaming.
Enter Tilt Brush by Google. Pitched to me as software for artists, I thought it’d be lost on a low-skilled doodler like me but this turned out to be my favourite part of the day. The concept and experience of painting and drawing in 3D is strange but beautifully satisfying. I could walk around my artwork, through my artwork, or jump away in an instant and view it from a distance. Forget your mindfulness colouring-in book – Google Tilt Brush is the future and takes it to a whole new level.
Tiltbrush DrawingSafe to say after all that, plus walking a virtual reality plank 50 feet high in the sky (I was literally shaking), and playing Beatsaber, the top-selling VR game of all time, I was sold on the effectiveness of VR technology and left full of thoughts on what the future could hold if tech has evolved this rapidly already.
So what do I now think about VR/AR and the future of tech?
First of all, VR now gives us the ability to immerse ourselves in a completely different environment in an instant. And it’s unlike anything we’ve had access to before. It’s great for escapism, community, wellbeing and creativity.
But this isn’t just about personal usage. There is a real value for businesses using VR and AR. Right now this tech gives companies the ability to train staff and connect remote workers like never before. We’re seeing the likes of engineering and automotive companies train in the creation and manufacturing of products in both a virtual and augmented world.
And the results – well it doesn’t matter if you make a mistake because it’s not real, you get hands-on training instead of having to watch others or read a book, and you can work alongside your team, building connections with your colleagues and learning to work together far more quickly. This is just one example but think of the possibilities beyond this.
It feels like we’re in for some exciting VR developments over the upcoming years, making it much more accessible and affordable to your average consumer. It seems likely that VR will be incorporated into every home and workplace in the not too distant future.”
Cara Wilson, Senior Marketing Manager, Pure360
____________________________________________________________________
Like the sound of our Immersive Discovery Day and think it could provide some important insights and learning to your team?
You can find out more here.
Alternatively get in touch via email: [email protected]
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